The CW Developing THE FLASH Series from ARROW Creators; WONDER WOMAN Show on Hold [Updated]

After finding great success with its superhero series Arrow, The CW is looking to take aim at another DC Comics character for a new TV show. Deadline reports that the network is fast tracking Flash, a drama series based on the DC Comics character The Flash. The Barry Allen character will first be introduced on a recurring basis in the upcoming second season of Arrow, after which he will get his own origin series. Arrow co-creators Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg are developing Flash alongside Arrow director David Nutter, with Berlanti, Kreisberg, and DC’s Geoff Johns poised to pen the pilot. Berlanti and Kreisberg will run the series should The CW pick up the pilot, and Nutter—who helmed the Arrow pilot—will direct the first episode.

Hit the jump for more, including what this means for the potential Flash movie and an update on The CW’s Wonder Woman series.

The CW’s gamble on Arrow paid off, and now it definitely looks like the network is looking to expand its superhero TV show roster. Given that The Flash will first appear on Arrow, one presumes that the network might be creating its own mini-DC hero universe, allowing the characters to appear on multiple series. What this means for Warner Bros.’ potential Flash movie is unclear, but reports swirled last week that the studio was planning on getting the feature film in theaters by 2016, sandwiched between 2015’s Batman vs. Superman movie and 2017’s Justice League. WB TV produces the superhero shows on The CW, so this Flash TV series isn’t moving forward without the movie studio’s knowledge. Whether they’ll be cool with two different iterations of the character running simultaneously is unknown, but I’m interested to see what happens to the movie if Flash takes off on The CW next fall.

Additionally, Deadline notes that The CW has “hit pause” on the potential Wonder Woman series. The network developed a potential pilot for the female superhero character this year, but the project never made it to pilot. It appears that the network’s focus now is on getting Flash off the ground, after which it could conceivably come back to Wonder Woman.

[Update: According to Deadline, Barry Allen will appear in episodes 8, 9 and 20 of Arrow’s upcoming season, each written by Berlanti, Kreisberg and Johns; Nutter will direct episode 20. Barry Allen will be introduced as “an ordinary man. The character will be as grounded and realistic as possible. That’s how we’ll get to know him. Then his life will get a bit faster,” says Kreisberg. As for how current Arrow characters will react to this new addition, Kreisberg also said:

“[They’ll react] in a very realistic way [and his introduction] won’t be treated as commonplace on the show but as extraordinary events. It will be fun for the audience to see how we do our take on The Flash’s powers. Some will feel very familiar to those who know the comics, and other stuff will feel different yet fresh and exciting.”

Berlanti added:

“That said, he does need powers to become The Flash. And he will be The Flash. He will wear a red costume, and he will go by that name.”

As for taking The Flash to series, Kreisberg and Berlanti said:

“There’s something very relatable about Barry. He got his powers by accident, they just sort of came to him…He also isn’t a dark and tortured soul.”

“We think it fits well both in terms of (Arrow) and (as a stand-alone series).”

Casting for the role begins this week.]

What do you think, folks? Does the idea of a DC Universe on The CW interest you, or would you rather see these characters on the big screen? Sound off in the comments below.